Sherlyn Vaughan
The eldest daughter of Lord Oswallt and Lady Kali Vaughan, Empress Sherlyn Vaughan, crowned Gwladys II was fated from birth to carry the burdening Mace of House Vaughan. However, never in her life did she foresee the weight of the phoenix crown to loom above her head. As the oldest of Emperor Oswallt's children, in Ariilyth's inclusive society, the castle she was promised, became an Empire. With her father's abdication, she now rules the Athrugadhi Empire, with the consequences of Oswallt's wartime policies laid upon her lap. Background Sherlyn was born the eldest of Oswallt and Kali Vaughan's children, so naturally was their heir. Coming from a strict family of high military tradition, she was nurtured and pressured into a military career, which she began young as a Junior Officer in the Royal Navy, late in the Great War, before ascending to Senior sometime during the Ariilythian Civil War, under her father's then liege, King Aodhain. She has since then proved herself further in the Kehjaho War and the Combine-Imperium War. Following the latter, Lord Vaughan's duty bade him leave from his fortress, in course for Asphodel, to serve as Ariilyth's Combine Councillor. With Oswallt gone, management of the castle was passed to Sherlyn, who was a commodore at the time. Thus, she became the Lady of Caisleán na Eangnamh, and with it, the mantle of Supreme Commander of the Military Assembly of Caisleán na Eangnamh was also passed over to her. In her hands, the castle expanded to become nothing less than a modern fortress. She ambitiously jump-started the project to establish Caisleán na Eangnamh as the powerhouse in the Kingdom of Ariilyth; refurbishing and modernising the castle to the core with top of the line defensive technology, constructing a large military port, both maritime and interstellar, near the Elfresian Ocean, with solid, picoengineered walls and shielding encompassing like a dome. She has the fort guarded primarily by MACE soldiers, however other infantry, can be found within its barracks, for the sake of rapid deployment as with the war machines stockpiled. A larger assemblage of point defence weaponry also adorns the castle and other buildings on her orders, and she upgraded the anti-air cannons which litter the entire complex with gauss fired shells. During her tenure as Supreme Commander, Sherlyn awoke one day to the news that her name was to be glistened with royalty, upon her father's ascension to the throne, with her being named his successor. Swelled with anxiety and uncertainty of herself, knowing she would now one day be Empress, Sherlyn not only endeavoured to fulfil her duties of office, but to take additional activity in the field, to experience the harsh realities of life firsthand, so that she may rule from a place of wisdom. While not foolish enough to pit herself within a battlefield on a whim, she personally undertook smaller, peacekeeping operations alongside her handpicked crew of Rohan Argadain, Olrynion Kyron, Caolán Fox and Alfie Rochfort, some of the most experienced and capable men in MACE, whose stories and thoughts she made a point to listen to and learn from. She developed a close friendship with each of them, and during this time began a love affair with Argadain, which ended abruptly after his scandalous, and sexually amoral nature showed its horns to her. This heartbreak, coupled with the tragic death of Rochfort during an ambush, and Kyron's leave due to increasing mental health issues, effectively ended what Sherlyn today considers to be the highlight period of her life. She did not see action again until the Liberation of Belryn, working again with Olrynion in an operation she oversaw which resulted in the ousting of the terrorist cell, Warhead from the city, and eventual finding of notorious terrorist, Lochlainn Comhairle. Sherlyn returned to her navy roots during the Scourge attack on Ingos Tenum. She defended her planet by commanding the Athrugadhi Ingosi fleet from her castle, which she opened up to safeguard Aserneat refugees. She worked with Stig Bolstad of Jernheim, a renounced member of Scourge, to smuggle innocent lives into the fortress as the Scourge dropped nuclear bombs on Aserneateral, though was unable to seize Bolstad himself. A year following, she finally ascended to the throne, after her father abdicated due to political pressures and his immediate goals having been fulfilled. She took Gwladys II as her royal name, after the Sciathan Queen who established Ariilythian naval supremacy in the Elfresian Ocean. As Empress, Gwladys withdrew Athrugadh from the Accord alliance, freeing the nation from its bonds and commitments to outside nations, which threatened to tear the country apart under the weight of her father's war-time policies and their after-effects she now has to resolve. Personality and Traits Despite her heavy military background, Sherlyn follows the traditional etiquette of a lady of nobility, and likes to engross herself further in lavish luxuries and social engagements, than her father ever would. This, however, makes her no less professionally stern. Often times, her attitude can be as a teacher's would. Despite this, the iron of her skin is somewhat chipped, as she is not too difficult to influence should one manage their way into her appreciation. Rohan Argadain for example has as much a profound moral effect on her as he does her father, and she is often quick to take the advice of her consultants who she has a particular liking to, even if their argument holds some less weight than those who differ. This indicates that many of her decisions are influenced by her personal yearnings, though so far she has proved competent in said decisions' executions at least. Be that as it may, this is a problem she must put to bed before she can take the royal steps to a far greater game. She is known to enjoy fencing as a hobby, priding herself in her ability with a rapier, though is frustrated with her lack of patience. Sherlyn is fairly fidgety, with a constant need to be on the move. She can constrain this urge when dealing with professional matters, yet she finds it difficult to keep still, and ease her mind when indulging in a hobby, or anything else informal. Fencing in particular exemplifies the obstacle of this, as while she is talented, and knowledgeable of the art, she instinctively pushes in for a move far too early and slips as a result. She is aware of this, and is attempting to apply a greater patience to every aspect of her life. The strict disciplining that all Vaughan children are raised under had hardened her for the most part. However, the overwhelming brutality of it on her young mind had also left some damage. Interestingly enough, she has Rhabdophobia, a phobia regarding being beaten by a thick stick, such as a cane, that is also associated with magic. Yet, at the same time, she holds a great deal of respect for mages, and has even read the works of Archmagister Emyr Malrithen. Skills, Abilities, and Equipment Part of her martial training was absolutely attributed to personal, and small team combat manoeuvres and tactics. Sherlyn is a specialist in CQC. With the help of augmentations, she is capable of analysing the make and equipping of most armours, and identifying exposed areas. She studied human anatomy in order to properly judge the best areas to target, however she is inexperienced with the anatomy of most aliens. Sherlyn also carries standard Vanguard International equipment, including a VI Díoltasaí Computer Targeted Macroprojectile, a VI Zenith 10mm Pistol, several frag, EMP, incendiary and flash-bang grenades, and her own personal combat knife made for, and gifted to her by her much beloved brother; Edward, who has connections in the arsenal manufacturing company. She has had a lifetime's worth of conditioning to utilise all efficiently. While her reliance on stealth is give or take, she absolutely does rely on agility. Her armour is designed to provide as much protection as possible, without sacrificing manoeuvrability. So, while the plating is of great quality, it is scarce, being selectively placed in areas of importance. To compensate for this, her suit's shielding is the absolute best available, and for stealth purposes, it is provided with a cloaking device to nullify most detection equipment, and lacks a shimmer to boot. The technology it utilises was recycled from the now disbanded Black Talon assassins, as nothing less is suitable for the Empress. Of course, her career in the Navy means she is particularly skilled in the organisation of fleets, and tactical naval warfare operations, both interstellar and maritime. Partly why she constructed a spaceport to dock a sizeable fleet at her fortress is for this very reason, as she believed she would be foolish not to utilise her lifelong developed talents should the need to defend her home arise. Martial prowess aside, she's a capable spokesperson, a decent software technician, and is educated in medicine. However, regarding her political savy, she needs to improve. Trivia *While right handed, Sherlyn fences with her left to throw her opponents off Category:Characters Category:Royalty Category:Status: Alive Category:Athrugadhi Category:Skolr's characters Category:Swordsmen Category:Military Category:Classic Altachtics Category:Normal Category:Cyborgs Category:Nobility Category:MACE Personnel Category:Humans Category:Belryn Characters Category:Ariilyth Category:National Leaders